The prior art related to pest control includes the following U.S. patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,953,868 to Chambers for a Device for Safely Administering Poison to Insects, Rodents and the Like, shows a poison carrying base which is connected to a protective cover. An opening between the base and the cover allows insects and rodents to eat the poison while preventing children from getting at the poison.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,536 to Baker for a Bait Station, shows a device with the overall configuration of a capital letter H. Openings are provided at the ends of the arms of the H and bait containing bins are located on either side of the central connecting passageway between the arms of the H. The location of the bait containing bins makes access by children difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,669 to Demarest et al. for an Insect Bait Device, shows a feeding device which is formed by joining two substantially identical housing portions to form an enclosure. The portions are joined by sonic welding, radio frequency welding, solvent welding, or heat sealing. The housings contain an insect bait pad which is held on a ledge which is formed within the enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,225 to Brandi for an Insect Feeding Station shows a device which has a base for carrying poison and a cover. The base has a luminous color under the poison to make removal of the poison easily detectable and outer walls with openings to allow entrance by an insect and walls or baffles to prevent access to the poison by a probe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,585 to Demarest, et al. for a Bait Station for Crawling Insects shows a base with a cover fastened to the base. The base includes a bait cup with a bait cup wall. The cover includes a shell that defines a walkway between the shell and the bait cup wall. The shell also includes a roof that spans the space defined by the shell wall. An antechamber is defined by a side support and by the shell wall. The floor of the antechamber is continuous with the floor of the walkway. A door in the shell admits insects into the antechamber and the side support restricts straight line access to the bait cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,983 B1 to Spragins for an Insect Baiting and Trapping Station includes a base, a cover and an insert which is locked between the base and the cover. The insert is in the form of a glueboard to which inserts a stick or a tray. The tray holds a toxic bait or attractant that the insect takes back to its nest. The base and the cover are locked together with a resilient catch and the device requires two hands to open the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,768 B1 to Johnson et al., for a Bait Station with a Screw-Off Child Resistant Lid has a base with a cylindrical sidewall with three openings to passageways which lead to an internal feeding chamber containing rodent bait. The passageways are configured to provide multiple rodent feeding positions at the feeding chamber. A dome-shaped lid covers the base and has finger recesses for gripping the lid. The lid and the base have resiliently deformable portions which lock the lid and the base to prevent a child from opening the lid.
Despite the developments of the prior art, there remains a need for an effective bait station which is capable of controlling pests.